Carrying in Church

[razorback2003]

Snub

I carry a S&W hammerless airweight snub in a pocket holster everywhere i go, including church.

 

[1911 guy]

I've got a letter from the church board asking me me to be armed at any church function I attend. I carry my normal stuff, a 1911, two reloads, flashlight, 2 1/2" fixed blade and similar folder. Since I wear a suit to church it all disappears nicely and I've gotten good at the "tactical hug".

 

[Treo]

This thread is almost 5 & 1/2 years old

I carry in church also & I sit in the back up in the sound booth so I can see all three doors real well.

let me throw this out.

If your pastor came to you and said " Hey Chuck, I really feel that God has laid it on my heart to ask you not to carry in church" Would you accept his authority over you and disarm before going to church?

 

[stormspotter]

Do you carry in Church

Yes, and my pastor approves it. He has just finished his 6 month residency requirement and will soon be able to apply for his CCW.

My sunday go to church CCW is a 2 1/2" Model 19 carried IWB. I always dress casual, with untucked shirt, so it is no problem.

If he disapproved, I would still have permission from one of our church elders and would continue to CCW.

 

[youngda9]

I would reply that God has told me no such thing. I wonder why God would go to you and tell you something he wanted me to do when he certainly knows where to find me.


I would question where his "message" was coming from.
:banghead:

 

[Treo]

I wonder why God would go to you and tell you something he wanted me to do when he certainly knows where to find me.

If that's the case why even go to church ? I mean yes God gave the Pastor a message to share but hey, if he really wants you to hear it.....

Biblically speaking the Pastor is placed in a position of authority over his congregation, I am one of the biggest advocates on this board of carrying every where I legally can and if I went to church Sunday and the pastor asked me not to carry unless I got a no doubt check in my spirit that this ain't right I'd disarm. If I wasn't sure, I'd disarm & I believe God would honor it. ( Now either you'll understand what I just said or you won't & if you don't me explaining it isn't going to help).

Sometimes when I'm not listening to God He WILL send other people to say it plain

 

[BernieD]

If I were a church goer I would carry. I always carry. Bad things can happen in church. The bad guys probably don't care about perceived sanctity of church. I think we need more people to carry to church. Religious buildings have been targeted many times for assault. That might change after a couple stories about 'The assailants entered the church intending a mass assault. They were stopped at the door by 15 people ranging in ages from young adult to geriatric, who opened fire.'

 

[youngda9]

If that's the case why even go to church ?"
To be with other Christians, to hear sermons and learn more about the lord and what he had to say, to have a moral support base and fellowship with other Christians etc. etc. etc. There are lots of reasons to go to church.


"I mean yes God gave the Pastor a message to share but hey, if he really wants you to hear it....."
I would question a pastor that told me that god was telling him things contradictory to the things Jesus is quoted as saying in the bible.
Jesus never told his followers to disarm...he didn't say throw away your weapons he said put away your swords when his disciples were being confronted by the angry mob. He said we should all arm ourselves.
I would feel strange if the pastor came to me and said that god was telling him that I shouldn't do this perfectly legal activity while at church....I would seriously question this. That is all I was saying.

"...But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a sack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one" (Luke 22:36).

Paul wrote in a letter to Timothy "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Tim. 5:8). This passage applies to our subject because it would be absurd to buy a house, furnish it with food and facilities for one's family, and then refuse to install locks and provide the means to protect the family and the property. Likewise it would be absurd not to take, if necessary, the life of a night-time thief to protect the members of the family (Exodus 22:2-3).

http://gunowners.org/sk0801.htm
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=25442

 

[Sato Ord]

As far as carrying in church, that goes along with any other place. I carry my weapon wherever it is legal to do so. If I attended church I would carry it there as well. When I enter a house of worship, any house of worship, for any reason, I carry my S&W. Do I expect trouble in these places, no, but, like anywhere else, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I may respect the scared places of others, but I'm not the guy with the gun we have to worry about.

 

[tblt]

Most always carry at church along with a few others.
I carry a LCP most of the time with a extra mag loaded w/ 102 gr golden sabers
38 sometimes w/5 extra rounds speer 135 gr short barrel
When I get my KAHR CW 9 I will probley carry it most the time w/a extra mag loaded with 147 gr.HST +p

 

[wyocarp]

Well, even though we have a lot of firearm freedoms here in Wyoming, in church is not one of them. I can walk into a bank loaded for bear, but I can't carry in church unless I have permission from the person or persons in charge of the church.

I guess we need someone to shoot up a church here in Wyoming before it will be allowed.

 

[green country shooter]

Legal here in Oklahoma. I usually carry a glock 26 in an ankle holster to get around the hug bunnies. We didn't hug until about 1990, I blame the Clintons.
Sometimes I carry and sometimes I don't. There are times I feel it will interfere with the experience.

 

[Blue Brick]

Never!!! I leave it in the truck.

 

[MostlyHarmless]

I do not believe there is anything magical about being in church that would protect me from evildoers. Church is a special place, yes, set aside and sanctified. But Christianity is not a mystical religion and though we may ask for God's blessing and protection there is no guarantee of safety anywhere in this fallen world.

Some churches I frequent are pacifist and have made it clear that they do not want firearms on the grounds. I respect their wishes even though they do not have the force of law. Other churches I frequent have taken no public position regarding the carrying of firearms.

It is not my preference to carry while participating in a worship service, however.

 

[Cuda]

Just ask the family in Colorado who lost 2 members in a church.

Carry always, always be prepared.


C

 

[logical]

In Michigan the law forbids it unless that pastor (or whoever is in charge) specifically approves it. I don't go often enough and am not enough of an "always carry" type to ask if he'd approve it. The place is so big it might even be prohibited under the "not in a stadium" clause for all I know.

 

[Kansan]

If you see me, I am carrying (where legal).... including church. S&W .38 Special - Ankle hoster. I read the news.

 

[withdrawn34]

I always keep this picture in mind (yes its a bit of a satire but the actual verse it comes from makes a very good point)

 

[notorious]

You bet I carry in church, all my friends carry in church. When my friends got married, we all carried to the ceremony. I even had uniformed guys come by and hang out and of courses, they carried.

The pastor was a bit disturbed and said he prefer that we didn't in the house of God but I told him no disrespect, Padre, but we have reasons why we always carry. I don't think he realized we were all cops.

Once he realized it, he let it go. On second thought, I recall seeing many paintings and artwork depicting a knight with his weapons inside a church, so there's probably not a prohibition against weapons in a house of worship.

There was a shooting at a synagogue in LA not too long ago and the gunman was put down by an off-duty cop working security there. The local synagogues have been hiring off-duty cops for a long time to provide security and that time, it paid off. If the cop hadn't been there, it would have been a massacre.

 

[CDH]

An average Sunday at our church has about 450 people in attendance, and I'd guestimate that there are at least 10 to 20 who carry, the ushers making up likely half that number.

I carry my Rohrbaugh R9S Stealth in church, and while some believe that a place of worship is more immune to violence, recent news reports suggest otherwise.
All it would take for me to "upgrade" to my XD45 instead, is a couple more news reports of hate crime killings in churches as these trouble times become more troubling.

While the likelyhood of a violent incident during a church service is probably 1% of 1% of 1%, I'm pretty sure that we who carry 100% of the time do so in order to be prepared for that one (very unlikely) moment that could change our lives forever unless we are prepared.
Is that not why we carry?

 

[jon_in_wv]

I got involved in a similar thread a while ago. Many people feel the Church building is somehow a holy place and if you carry a weapon in church you are somehow sinning because you are showing a lack of faith in God. Some believe the pastor has some authority over you to tell you you can or can not carry. Some believe they feel secure and safe in church and have no need to carry there.
1. The church is merely a building. Christ's Church is the sum of all its members and you are in his Church always if you are a Christian. If it is wrong to carry in that building than you are wrong to carry any where you go as a Chirstian. Does your faith stop at the doorsteps? Will Christ not protect you wherever you are? God promised, "that whoever believes in him (Jesus) shall not perish but shall have eternal life". This refers to our eternal soul. Not our temporary behinds. My faith protects my soul and S&W protects my behind. Early Christians had such strong faith they were tortured and murdered to denounce Christ yet they did not. I doubt everyone's faith is that strong yet that faith did not stop them from being killed. But they did not perish as God saved their SOULS.
2. A pastor is a teacher. He is obligated to teach and guide you by the Bible. It doesn't give him authority or put him in a position of authority over you. In fact he is supposed to be a servant of the congregation. Many pastors, priests, and ministers have tried to use the Bible to assert power over people. This is contrary to the Bible not authorized by it.
3. I'm glad that you feel safe and secure in the presence of you congregation. I do too. But whether or not I am surrounded by my friends, there is still the same amount of evil in the world and there is no magic force field around our building protecting us. Since I can carry, I feel an obligation to do so to be a protector of our church and its inhabitants.

That about sums up my feelings on that subject.

 

[wyocarp]

Some believe the pastor has some authority over you to tell you you can or can not carry.

Well, in some states, the state actually give the pastor that authority so in short, like here in Wyoming, they do have that authority.

 

[notorious]

But that is secular authority the same as the law given tavern owners or night club owners the same right to prohibit arms on their premises.

Like I said earlier, teutonic knights and the Knights Templar never disarmed when going to church and I don't think the Bible has been amended to prevent firearms from going in to the House of God either.

 

[ultradoc]

Did it today. Also, over the weekend found another fellow who goes there and he carries. My pastor [who is planning to get his ccl] said it's a good thing to know who is out there.

 

[Big Bill]

I saw the Bishop out shopping for a concealable handgun the other day, and since the gays are giving us such a hard time after the election in California, I have decided to carry in church.